Washington (CNN) - Barack Obama will be re-elected as president of the United States, CNN projects. He will win the critical swing state of Ohio, putting him over the 270 electoral votes needed to secure the White House, CNN projects

Mitt Romney took an early lead over Obama with more than half the races decided Tuesday, but the Republican challenger lost both his home and birth states and was trailing in key battleground states, according to unofficial returns and CNN projections.

Washington (CNN) - Moderate Georgia Democratic Rep. John Barrow was re-elected to a fifth term in the House on Tuesday, CNN projects, and remains the last white male Democrat from the Deep South in the House of Representatives.

The remaining Democratic congressmen from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia are African Americans.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Shortly after multiple networks projected that Republicans would retain control of the House, Speaker John Boehner took to the stage with a message that looked ahead to the battle over the fiscal cliff - the GOP isn't budging on taxes.

"With this vote, the American people have also made clear that there is no mandate for raising tax rates," Boehner told supporters at the Ronald Reagan building in Washington.FULL POST

(CNN) - Abortion became an issue in some of this year's U.S. Senate races as well as in the presidential race, exit polls show.

In Missouri, Republican Senate candidate Rep. Todd Akin said in a local news interview that women have biological ways to avoid pregnancy after a "legitimate rape." Tuesday's early exit polls show 51% of Missouri voters say they believe abortion should be legal all or most of the time. Of those voters, exit polls show 76% supporting Akin's opponent, Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill while 19% voted for Akin. Forty-seven percent of Missouri's voters say abortion should be illegal. Exit polls show Akin takes 67% of this group's votes while 27% of people who think abortion should be illegal supported Sen. McCaskill.FULL POST

(CNN) - Democrat Jay Nixon has become the first Missouri governor re-elected to a second term since 1996, CNN projects.

Nixon defeated Republican nominee businessman Dave Spence. A veteran campaigner with at least seven statewide races under his belt, Nixon had a solid lead over Spence for much of the past year.FULL POST

(CNN) - CNN has projected Republican Congressman Mike Pence as winning the race for governor in Indiana, beating the Democratic competitor, John Gregg.

Pence, having already served six terms as a member of the House of Representatives, mulled a 2012 presidential bid but opted instead to run for governor to replace term-limited Republican incumbent Mitch Daniels. His defeated opponent John Gregg is the former Indiana House speaker.

Pence's win was thought as likely. Years in Congress and on the Sunday talk show circuit, as well as his brief foray in near-presidential politics, gave him a relatively high profile for a state candidate. Indiana is also a Republican-friendly state with Republicans controlling the governorship, a U.S. Senate seat and a majority of U.S. House seats.